United Church Manners

I helped teach Sunday School at our new church today where they do things a little differently than what I'm used to. It was grades 1-3, and everything was so sweet and soft and organized so that the children knew where to sit, when to light the candle or get a certain book, how to take turns in circle prayer, who is serving snack and what to do at journal time. No Veggie Tales or slick, sunglasses wearing Jesuses here. A bit of a time warp, but pretty cute.

Of course kids are kids and there was one who kept flicking over the plastic canvas wise men and saying blah, blah, blah and rolling on his back (wasn't one of mine, so phew). Another boy kept commenting on how nice church smells, why does it smell so good, I love the smell of this place and when the teacher lit the candle "mmmm, that smells great!" Ethan argued with him, saying matches smell horrible and the boy said, dude, what are you talking about? Matches smell awesome.

The teachers must be taught not to get involved or react to interruptions, because through it all she kept on going in her nice, soft voice and when she said "this is the Christ baby with his arms outstretched for a hug", my kids burst out laughing (telling them that a plastic canvas Jesus wants a hug will always end badly...). She ignored it and pulled out a mat to mark the advent and Ethan interrupted (yes, again) and asked if it was 100% polyester. She ignored this as well, so we may never know, but I had a good talk with the kids afterwards about how this class is a little more formal than our old class and what that means manners-wise. I also asked them, as we've asked before, how they like class and they both said they love it, which surprises me a bit. It's definately slower paced, no media, no games, lots of old fashioned Bible stories. I had kind of just assumed it wouldn't be their thing.

So, we're learning the ways of the United Church, the standing and sitting and responding and candle lighting; and so are the kids. I think I really get this idea of being in touch with the older traditions- ways of worship that were followed many generations ago, and when it's paired with an open and modern world view it's a refreshing balance. Now if we can only get those manners in check, we'll be set.


Angie

Guest Blogger

Hi! i am ethan john is my dad. he has been doing great on his business. but he is mostly doing aerating the last couple months. his uniform is nice too! he says when he is done his business he will pass his job on to me.

State of Emergency

Seems our little town of Duncan made national news this week after it was reported we were in a state of local emergency. With all the rain we've had this month the rivers have struggled to drain into the ocean (especially at high tide) resulting in massive flooding. Over 300 families were forced to evacuate after water entered their homes without knocking and put up its feet. Old men raged against the irresponsible municipality for not somehow preventing this while others wept over floating photos and the reality of the words - no flood insurance.

Meanwhile, the rest of Duncan continued on as usual, some having no idea their home town was in a state of emergency until turning on the news that evening or breaking in front of the newly formed blockade. That was us. Sitting in our living room with scenes of flooding waters and floating homes on the TV and the dawning realization"hey, we live in that town." One of the flooded images showed the school across the street from our brother Jordan's apartment so we rang him up to let him know the chances of him surviving the night were likely lower then normal. Turns out he wasn't even aware of the flood, after all its "way across the street", but just to be safe he hung out with us for the evening. The good news is, the waters have begun to subside and even if they return they'll have sand bags and determined citizens to contend with. Still, its weird to think we were living in a state of emergency and didn't even know it. It makes me think this is probably the way life was for the first 15,000 years that humans walked the earth. Emergency loomed everywhere but nobody knew it until tragedy took over the living room. In this way, I guess I'm thankful for media. Some things are worth knowing.

John

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad. Party like its 1936.

Hiccups are gone....for now.

Home

My Man Ethan

One of the reasons I started my own business was I knew it would be great training ground for the kiddoes, Ethan especially. Ethan has always enjoyed grunt work. When he was 4 years old I took him out with the men to cut 3-4 cords of firewood and he worked all day long, so long in fact the men began to grunt words of affirmation. Ethan would just smile and swing the ax harder, which is our secret. *index finger on pursed lips* Years later he's still that same hard worker. Just today I picked him up from school and asked if he wanted to "come work with dad to finish off a job." It was pouring, it always is these days, and so I kinda expected him to decline in favor of warmth and Wii. He accepted though only demanding a snack and his usual pay ($5/hr for light gardening duties, $10 for man work). One hour later we arrived home soaked and weary after filling the back of the truck with drain rock. Ethan showered up then we watched the Oilers beat the best team in the West. See! Own your own business and everybody wins.

John

P.S. Our new Lush website is hiccuping right now. I've tried to sneak up on it and scream as well as dumping water on it but they haven't gone away. Hopefully Angie (webmaster) can do her magic.

disoriented

I had been working on our website until my eyes started to shrivel up and my brain turned into a giant (because my brain is giant) cotton ball. I really, really would like some feed back- at this point I'm only seeing a series of symbols, which some call letters of the alphabet, and lines and some strange images.
Please help. Please. Any advice will do.
Oh- just click on the pretty little symbol at the top of this page.

Angie

slouchy mc sloucherston

Should I feel bad that my chiropractor told me I have a sway back, am a toe walker and will likely develop a hunch in my shoulders if I don't do more intensive yoga? He also said things like I don't like to use the word lazy..., and sitting too much on the couch can cause this..., and (with a disappointed look) you really need to work on your core strength.

He was a nice guy, though, and very thorough and now has me terrified into purchasing yoga books and signing up for classes at the gym. In the end, I will thank him I'm sure. Like when I'm 50 and my back is straight as an arrow, my head sitting squarely on my shoulders. I'll walk around pointing it out to everyone because I would hate for all my hard work to go unnoticed. What? Were you looking at my level neck? No, that's just from years of yoga. That's all. *sniff*

By the way, I don't sit on the couch a lot.

Angie

Tongue tingling

A few weeks back I noticed a tingle in my tongue's tip. I ignored it thinking I had probably singed some taste buds or something. The tingle of my taste buds at the tip of my tongue continued so one night I googled "tingling tongue tip" and after weeding through some nudey sites I found what I was looking for. It seems the condition can arise if the tongue bearer is lacking Vitamin B12. Really? Re a a a llllly. Well, it seemed Vitamin B12 was good for other things too so I bought a bottle and started taking them... and wouldn't you know it the tingling has stopped. So... if you detect a tingle.....

John

I'm a starter

I'm a starter. By nature. One time I started a "100 push ups 5 days a week then re-evaluate progress after six months" program. Two weeks later I started a new program that didn't involve push ups. I once started reading Les Miserables. Surprisingly I made it half way through before starting Pillars of the Earth. A couple years back I started putting a thin layer of coffee grounds on the top of my coffee as a delicacy. Angie said I was gross and I said you mean the coffee is gross and she said no you are gross. She ended up being right on both accounts and my coffee is once again creamy smooth. Delicacy free. A few months back I started setting my alarm at 6:15am every morning so I could "center myself" and such. It turns out 6:15am is a rather chilly time to get up not to mention dark time to get up so I now center myself here and there....

I started a book club with my family recently. Me, Ang, Jordan (her brother) and Clair (their mother). We all picked a classic. I read the first one and that's it. Book club disbanded. I was to blame. Good news is we started it up again and I'm half way through Slaughterhouse Five. I plan to finish. I always plan to finish. I just need to get started. I started this blog post one time called "I'm a starter" and it was about how I tend to start things but never fin

Little Grandpa

I never knew my grandfather or great grandfather on my dad's side. They both passed years before I was born. This was one of my great disappointments growing up. A few months back my dad spent several weeks sending us stories of his youth. 90% of the stories I had never heard before and so I would read them eagerly with relish (not the condiment). Many of the stories he shared involved "little Grandpa", his grandfather, my great grandfather. Although small in stature (he was only 5 foot 3 and could stand underneath my dad's extended arm) he was a man of great character. In honor of Remembrance Day and my Great Grandpa, I'd like to share a few stories of his experiences in the war.

Little Grandpa was involved in both World Wars and was a Medic in the Second. It was his job to run out on the field where the fighting was the fiercest and tend to the injured or fallen. On one such occasion he heard a soldier cry out from a small trench. Picking up his supplies he ran towards the hole, jumped in and starting tending to the soldier's injured leg. After a few moments he looked up to find the end of a enemy soldier's revolver pointed at his head. Wrong hole. Without saying a word, my grandpa looked back down, finished fixing the leg and was on his way.

On another occasion, after a particularly difficult day, the mood in the camp was quite bleak. My Grandpa was known as a strong Christian by the other soldiers, one who would never touch alcohol which is why my Grandpa thought it would be humorous to stumble into camp with an empty wine bottle in hand pretending he was drunk. Apparently his performance was so realistic that his Superior, who has witnessed the entire thing called my Grandpa out for his irresponsible behavior. My Grandpa was obviously mortified and tried to explain which of course only made his already laughing troop laugh harder. Apparently his Superior had been planning to ask my Grandpa to be the accompanying medic on an important assignment but due to his irresponsible behavior he could no longer be trusted with the mission. Once again my Grandpa tried explaining to no avail which of course only made the troop laugh even harder. Three men went out on an important mission that day including a less qualified medic. They were never heard from again....

On another occasion my Grandpa had an artillery shell roll up to him landing right at his feet. It never went off. I'm sure there are thousands more stories like this of brave Grandpa's around the world. Tell yours today. Lest we forget.

John

Lest we forget

Watching the opening minutes of this movie is the closest I ever want to get to war. Tom Hanks had this to say about filming these scenes, "There were people falling and explosions going off around you...There's terror in our eyes in some of those scenes, and rightly so, because we were genuinely scared...and we all knew it was fake." Many veterans have said these opening scenes are the most vivid and realistic ever put to film. So vivid in fact, many could not watch.

Since 2001 I've chosen to watch this movie every year in and around November 11. I have always felt a responsibility to remember and since I'm a visual guy, this is how I do it. As I type this I remember once again. The impact just as strong as the previous year. That being said, I realize this is probably one of the more shallow ways to remember the ultimate sacrifice of these uncommonly brave men. Watch a war movie, feel bad, then at week end start getting excited for Christmas. Unfortunately, this has been my pattern.

This past week our church did a beautiful job of remembering. There was no slick power-point, stirring video clips or controversial words about the the fallacy of war. Nope, just 23 surviving soldiers clad in their garments of honor walking in, sitting down, reading scripture and later the names of the fallen who had once made this church home. Later on, our eloquent minister shared the need for us to follow the soldier's example by seeking peace in our daily lives. And that's when it hit me. Remembering, although important should never be an end in itself. It should only function to spur us onto the action of seeking peace.

So, I'm gonna give it a try because its sure easy to feel bad (I've been reading through the Holocaust Chronicle as well) and even easier to be against war but seeking peace requires that I get up from my all too lazy self and do something when the movie ends. I've made a little list.

- Shed my ego

- Resist the urge to be right

- Control my anger

- Reserve impatience for injustice only

- Enjoy the moment

- Notice beauty

- Be fully present

- Replace fear with love

- Pray for those I can't stand

And so on.

Lest we forget why we remember.

John

Alexa Remembers

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

For the past several days Alexa has been standing on chairs throughout the house reciting John McCrae's famous poem by heart. She will be reciting the poem with her class at their Remembrance Day presentation on Tuesday. To say she's taking it seriously is an understatement.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

I've heard this poem countless times and most of us can probably recite the first two lines by heart, yet, its message no longer penetrates as it once did. Each year my only contribution to "remembering" is watching Saving Private Ryan, which I'll do again I'm sure. I wonder if that's enough? I also wonder how the soldiers would like to be remembered.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

I have never heard this verse before. Heartbreaking stuff. One day the soldiers were common folk like you and me, the next they were fighting a war they didn't start for a cause they would never fully understand. And now most of them lie In Flanders fields while the rest still live with its memory.

A recent poll has shown that today's youth are vastly ignorant when it comes to the events of this century's World Wars. Many believe Adolf Hitler was a German soccer coach for instance.There's no doubt war was and is a horrible reality of human civilization. Perhaps this is why most, including me, often choose to forget. Remembering hurts. Besides, it wasn't our war, right?

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

This last verse doesn't allow us to forget. "If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep though poppies grow..." I asked Alexa what she thought it meant and she said "oh, it means we must stand with the soldiers."

One way we can stand with them is to tell their stories. I have a few of my own to tell and plan to do that on Wednesday as a tribute to freedom. Please share your own stories with me on that day so together we can never forget.

Thanks!

John

Monarchs

I used to be a blogger. Every day and twice on Wednesdays. I also used to have something to say. The past year was a curious sandwich. Europe and Launching my own business with a lot of EI in between. It was a year where Angie and I decided to leave church work in favor of a question mark. Thankfully the question mark turned into a period and is continuing its transformation into an exclamation. We expect to be Monarchs soon.

3 nights ago I stayed up past midnight to read our Europe blog from start to finish. I was immediately thankful that Angie and I had taken the time to jot down our experiences as a year later I was able to appreciate their richness and beauty once again. When I had finished I was challenged to pick up the pen and start writing again as I was hit with the realization that a year from now I will wish I had written. The only condition was Angie would have to pick up and write too.

We've called this blog Minding our own Business because we are. It often feels like we entered some kind of reverse witness protection program as everything in our lives has changed except our names. New Province, New City, New Vehicle, New House, New Church, New School, New Career, New Business to name a few. Minding our own Business takes most of our attention these days as we've set our sights high even uttering the word franchise. It's been a great 5 months planning, plotting, dreaming and doing. Our business has been received well by the community and there are many reasons to expect that will continue to be the case.

We're looking forward to December 3, when the Sundance Film favorite Fuel comes to town. Lush Eco Lawns is an official sponsor as, together, we promote our joint message of sustainability. In the meantime, we are finishing our fall treatments, putting the final touches on our website and gearing up for our first winter. We have, what we feel is a great winter biz idea but time will tell, just as we will, next post.

Thank for reading. We plan to update regularly. In other news, we haven't gotten the flu shot...

John and Ang